Crystal Eyes, Crystal Lives
by The Second Artist
Summary: Coraline was attacked, and it's up to Jim and his friends to stop the thing in the woods. Meanwhile, Barbara has a crisis of her own, now that she has her job, and a new mystery to solve. (2ND PART TO SOME NEW FRIENDS)


**HELLO, GUYS! This is going to be the first chapter of the second part to _Some New Friends_! SPOILER the second part is going to contain A LOT of information, and A LOT of action. I also hope that I can be able to write longer chapters. You know, ones that don't just go over 2000 words per chapter? My goal is around 3500-4000 words. Hopefully the number of words go higher than 4000. Overall, I hope you guys love the second part!**

 **Anyway, I shouldn't keep you from reading this chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and the start of the second part of this series!**

* * *

Run.

Just run.

No looking back, no _turning_ back.

There's woods everywhere. Trees, bushes, and nature in every direction.

Follow the path. Follow the rocks lining the dirt road. If you lose it, you lose the way, and you lose your _life._

With this mindset, Coraline burst through the door of her ancient house and to the outside world. Bugs and birds scattered as the loud _bang_ of the door erupted from the contact, and Coraline bolted from what she thought was her _only_ safe-haven. Her _house._ Her _home._

With blood seeping from her side, her right ankle injured, and the orange crystal clutched to her chest, she did the best she could to get herself out of the clearing, and into the more thick brush. She _prayed_ that the deep bush would be able to hide her. Coraline was panting heavily, and often cursed out loud as she was forced to exert more force onto her hurt ankle as she ran through the thicket. Branches frayed upward, and began to pull at her jacket and tights. Holes began to form on her tights, and the thread from her skirt began to fray at the seams, effectively laying waste to the fabric.

Suddenly, there was laughing in the distance.

It was the sort of maniacal laughter that made every fiber of your being freeze up, and your breath stop. It was the kind of laughter that made the biggest predators of the forest _quiver_ , and _shiver_ in fear of what may happen to them. It was the kind of laughter that _knew_ it was going to get what it wants, no obstructions, nothing to get in its way.

That laughter belonged to none other than Vlad.

 _Just keep running, don't stop for anything,_ Coraline thought, limping and struggling to change direction. Her face was contorted to merge a look of both fear and immense pain. A twinge of pain shot up her leg, and she staggered. She panicked, and instantly looked behind her, towards the there he was. Vlad was there, standing there, menacingly. A dark aura surrounded him, and for the second time that night, she feared for her life. The only thing, the only _person_ she could think of going to right now...she didn't want to think about it, and she was still mad about his lying. But, honestly, what choice did she have? None. She continued to run, getting more tired and more drowsy as the pain began to slowly take over. Coraline forced herself to wake up, and was relieved to see the familiar stone bridge into Arcadia.

She headed towards the general direction of Jim's slice of town.

* * *

Barbara was in her bedroom, ready for bed. She had just finished a 17-hour shift at the hospital. Needless to say, she was utterly, and completely _exhausted._ Frankly, she wasn't even bothered to change into her pajamas, so still in her hospital scrubs, she flopped onto her cold bed, and breathed a sigh of - for a lack of a better phrase - comfort _euphoria_.

"Oh, I'm home!", she sighed once more. She didn't have to worry about Jim. He was at Toby's house, most likely playing videogames like...Sushi...something. _What was that video game's name again? It had something to do with sushi..._

"Wait, why am I thinking about this again? Whatever, I need to _sleep!_ "

She dropped her head onto the pillow, and closed her eyes, waiting for the sweet, sweet embrace of slumber to take over. But alas, her mind had other plans for her. Barbara's mind drifted towards the strange incident a few days ago. No, it was _more_ than strange. A young man, no more than a teenager, had been having delusions representative of someone who's _definitely_ had _plenty_ of drugs that night. However, she recalled how the labs for his blood came back negative for any drugs in his system. Barbara remembered the strange dialogue from that night. It replayed in her mind like a bad case of trauma, and heard it like it had happened only a few minutes ago.

 _"He...he's here. That...thing….nightmares...he's here. Here. Here. Claws...claws…"_

 _"No...get away from me…"_

 _"Get...Get away...get AWAY!"_

Barbara sat up in her bed, tossing her covers back, and letting her feet touch the cold, wood floor. If she was going to stay up, there was no use staying in bed. For what seemed like the millionth time that night, she sighed as she put slippers on, and began her trek downstairs. She thought of the things he was uttering before he had...died. He was talking about claws... Was he attacked by an animal? That was something she hadn't had the chance to figure out. She thought that was most likely the cause of his temporary visit. However, he mentioned the nightmares... What could be the cause of those? Surely those two aren't connected?

Perhaps these were the work of someone with severe trauma from past experiences, but Barbara couldn't be sure. Then, she remembered something else the John Doe said.

 _"Here...c-claws...he's...he controls...tall…"_

Controls? Could the boy have been in a sort of hostage situation? Abusive parent situation? A cult? What was it? Wait, then what explains the claws? Humans don't have claws. Cats, bears, but never _human beings._ No, it must've been an animal. Barbara began to pace around the room, and pondering. She remembered the John Doe saying that his kidnapper or parent or... _whatever_ was tall. But, that seemed like a extremely vague description. There was the possibility that he might not have been talking about a person! He could've been mumbling about a structure he saw, or a building. So, really, there is no way to know what happened. There only seemed to be more suspicion, and speculation then actual answers.

Suddenly, something sinister popped back into her brain.

 _"VLAD! VLAD, STOP! STOP! YOU'RE KILLING ME! STO-"_

She shuddered as she remembered the sickening sound of a poor boy's neck _snapping_ for no apparent reason, though she had figured that he had thrashed around so much that he accidentally snapped his neck. However, the results of the autopsy contradicted her hypothesis. Barbara asked about the results of the autopsy, hoping to get a better idea, or the actual cause of her John Doe's abrupt death. She was told that _something_ had snapped his neck, and it couldn't have been by his own flogging and thrashing about. He couldn't have done it on accident; the force of the action would have come from someone powerful and with a lot of strength. But no one was there except for Tyrone.

Tyrone had been ruled out because Barbara was a key witness to the whole ordeal. Tyrone had been trying to steady his head in a forward position where his eyes were supposed to face the ceiling. This would and _should_ have prevented anymore damage done to his neck. Barbara watched Tyrone as he attempted to calm and sedate the 15-year old boy, but was quickly losing control. Tyrone had not made _any_ sudden movements to have caused the death of the John Doe, and yet, he died via snapping of his neck. She worried about him constantly, and right now, Tyrone was on suspension because of the incident. He was awaiting a trial date.

Barbara put the thought out of her head before instantly putting it back in. Just before he died, the John Doe said the name 'Vlad'. Who was Vlad? Barbara thought that it was most likely his captor or parent. Then again, who's biological child calls their parent by their first name? Or last name? She reasoned that maybe Vlad was either his kidnapper or his step-parent or maybe even a friend. But why would he say that they were killing him? Delusions? Was he schizophrenic? Or was he really sick from some sort of tumor, or something far worse? Had he not slept for days and he was experiencing illusions from the lack of it? Barbara groaned loudly, and shook her head, frustrated and becoming more and more irritated. Unless he _miraculously_ reanimated and starting walking again, there wouldn't be a way to tell exactly what he was experiencing or thinking antecedent to the time he came to the hospital and during his temporary visit. She started thinking about what she could do to find out how this even happened.

But her thinking was interrupted by a loud, almost inhuman screech from outside of the house. Barbara jumped up, and was now standing silent, waiting for anything else. Another scream came from outside. Probably from right outside her house.

"Help! Someone help me! Please!"

She whipped around to the window in her bedroom, and practically pounced on it. She lifted the window, and was shocked to find Coraline there, screaming and crying for help. She felt her breath hitch, as she stared for a few seconds. Without saying a single word, Barbara ran downstairs and bolted toward the front door, flinging it open. She found Jim and Claire already outside and taking hold of both of Coraline's arms. Toby was shouting for Barbara's help, a face full of fear and panic prevalent on his face. She rushed forward, helping the teens take Coraline inside Barbara's house. They set an injured Coraline down on the couch.

"Toby," Barbara called, "get the tissues. You know where they are."

"You got it, ma'am!", Toby replied as he ran off to some unknown part of the house.

"Claire, go get the first aid kit, and one of the towels. The first-aid kit is in the bottom drawer below the sink in the bathroom. Go! Now!"

"I'm on it!", Claire responded as she ran off to the bathroom.

"Jim," Barbara called.

"Yeah?"

Barbara gave him a stern look, and told him to start dialing 911 and to tell them that they needed an ambulance - and _fast._ She told him to tell them who Coraline was, what her injuries were, and that she was going to handle most of the minor injuries at her house. The bigger, more serious injuries would be tended to at the hospital. He ran off to another unknown place in the house. Barbara turned back to Coraline, who was still sobbing uncontrollably and had begun to hyperventilate. It was then she noticed the dirt and blood that Coraline was covered in. She noticed the various leaves and miniature twigs in her matted hair. Barbara immediately thought of the woods beleaguering Arcadia, and assumed the worst. Had she been kidnapped? Had she been assaulted? Barbara hoped that neither of those things had occurred to her, and that she had simply gotten lost in the woods, and fell down an embankment. For how long she had been there, she planned to ask later.

"Hey, Coraline," Barbara said, kneeling to be at eye level with Coraline, "can you breathe for me?"

Coraline shook her head.

Barbara bit her lip, and said, "Okay, can you breathe with me? Can you do that? The only way for us to help you is to calm down, okay?"

Coraline hesitated before nodding.

"Okay," Barbara said, "Good. Breathe in, breathe out. In. Out. In. Out. There you go!"

In that instant, Toby came back with a box of tissues. He set them down. Toby pondered a bit before running off to the kitchen to make some tea. Claire had run back with the first-aid kit, and plopped it down on the table, right next to the tissues. Barbara made sure to keep Coraline from hyperventilating again, and asked her, "Where were you injured, Coraline?"

Coraline couldn't - or wouldn't - talk, and so she pointed to her side, and pointed to her right ankle. She winced in pain as Barbara gently touched the ankle. It was horribly swollen - almost the size of a tennis ball - and at an unusual angle. Barbara exhaled deeply before looking at Coraline in the eyes.

"Okay, Coraline, I believe your ankle is dislocated. It's very swollen, so we will have to make a splint for it," Barbara informed. She sent Toby and Claire to find the biggest pillow in the house and the duct tape from the garage. Claire bolted toward the garage while Toby sprinted towards the bedrooms.

In that instant, Jim came back from talking to the 911 dispatchers.

He said, "They told me that they'd send an ambulance over here. I told them who you were, if that's alright. What can I help with?"

"You can sit next to her for now. Coraline," Barbara said, making Coraline look at her, "I need to put your ankle in a correct angle for it to heal properly, which means I have to set it back into place. I'm not going to beat around the bush; it's going to hurt. A lot. If you need to scream, scream. Scream as loud as you want. I've pretty much adjusted to it already," She chuckled before becoming serious once more.

"I'm going to set it now," she declared. Coraline nodded as she bit down on her lip and braced herself for the pain. Barbara placed her hands on Coraline's ankle, feeling where it had dislocated as Coraline whimpered. Now knowing where it was, she grabbed it a bit too roughly. Coraline yelped in pain, and began to scream as Barbara began to pull and tug. Coraline began to writhe, and screech as the pain was seemingly unbearable. Jim had to hold her down, and ease her, telling her that everything was going to be okay, and that it would be over soon. Her screaming resonated through the home's walls, and reached out into the outside world. Neighbors immediately wondered if someone was being murdered in the house next door. They wondered if they would have to call the police.

Suddenly, a loud _pop!_ was heard.

All three kids - having just returned - stared in bewilderment as the cacophony died down, and only the sound of groaning remained. A sigh came through. "Coraline, I am going to put a splint in now. This will feel uncomfortable, but the pain won't be as bad." Coraline, still groaning and slowly becoming less conscious, makes a small nod. As Barbara got to work on the splint - and Coraline emptying the box of tissues - Jim and his friends decided to go outside to wait for the ambulance, and to discuss the night. There would be a lot of explaining to do. Not just for Coraline, but for the neighbors.

Toby began to speak first. "Guys, I have that bad feeling in my gut. I think that... _thing_ in the woods was the one that caused this. There's no doubt about it."

"I agree," Jim said, and looked back to the inside of the house, seeing his mother beginning to wrap the splint around Coraline's ankle. He pursed his lips to a thin line. Jim notices that Coraline is moving her mouth, and thinks about going back in. Instead, he discards the thought, and turns back to his friends. He exhales heavily, and says, "We have to stop that thing before anyone else gets hurt. One person injured is one too many."

In that moment, the blaring clamor of an ambulance could be heard in the distance. Along with the cacophany of the ambulance was the sound of a loud police siren. Jim grew stern. "We have to stop the the thing in the woods. We're heading to Trollmarket tomorrow morning, okay?", Jim whispered to Claire and Toby. They nodded without hesitation.

The teenagers then made their way out in the middle of the street, waving their arms to get the ambulance' driver's attention. It was a cold night, the air chilly, and getting even chillier as Coraline was taken away to the hospital that Barbara worked. Barbara slowly walked outside and watched intently as the bright white ambulance grew smaller and smaller as it drove down the road. Her eyes were wide with terror and motherly concern.

Barbara, still outside, relived the brief conversation the two had before the ambulance took Coraline away.

* * *

 _Barbara began to fashion the splint by wrapping the pillow around Coraline's leg. As she is doing this, Coraline is slowly losing consciousness. Despite this, she begins to speak for the first time since she was helped inside._

 _"Mrs... Lake..."_

 _Barbara looks up, wide eyed and surprised._

 _"It was...his name was...Vlad...he..."_

 _Barbara suddenly gets a strong case of deja vu._

 _"His name...was Vlad... he's... he's a tro...troll..."_

 _Troll? What does she mean by he was a troll? She couldn't have meant an internet troll, or that he was simply too ugly. Barbara was grasping at straws trying to figure this out when Coraline began to speak again. Could she have meant...? No, that simply wasn't possible._

 _"Take...my crystal...please...protect it...please...Vlad wants...this..."_

 _Coraline, with as much strength as she could muster, lifted the orange crystal from behind her. She was shaking. The crystal seemed to be glowing as Barbara stared at it. It was beautiful, and it enthralled her, seemingly trapping her in its glory. It shone and glowed, beautiful and bright, and glinted in the dim lantern light of the living room. Suddenly, it fell as Coraline's hand dropped back down, and Barbara went to catch it in her hands. She stared down as the hunk of rock as Coraline began to speak once more._

 _"Use it...to find...the...Trollhu..."_

 _Coraline's eyes drooped, and inevitably closed. She immediately fell silent, and lay on the couch, unconscious. Barbara's eyes grew wide, and she jumped up to wake her, but soon the EMT's arrived, and loaded the sleeping girl onto the wheeled stretcher._

* * *

Now, she didn't know what to believe. She had believed that Vlad was a person, a _human._ But by the descriptions of both the John Doe, and also of Coraline, it doesn't sound like that was the case. Someone with claws and can apparently control _something._ Or was it a some _one._ Vlad was a guy's name, and based on the pronouns used by the John Doe, it was confirmation that it was a male. What was Vlad? Coraline mentioned that he was troll. But trolls were only fiction! Fiction was called fiction for a reason; it wasn't true. Every legend, urban myth, and fantasy story; those weren't true.

Unless, they were.

Barbara shook her head. She was an adult! There can't be any possible way that trolls exist. She tightened her grip on the crystal. No, trolls don't exist. They don't exist. It's impossible.

Oh, but how wrong she was.

Vlad stood on the house next to Barbara's, out of sight from the woman and the teens. He glanced at Jim, and instantly knew that this was where the fleshbag lived. That these people around him must be the people he cares for.

 _He looks like such a weakling,_ Vlad thought, almost in disbelief, _But I musn't be fooled by something so small. He defeated Draal, after all._

He backed off a little more into the darkness. He had it.

He knew who the red haired woman was. It was the Trollhunter's own fleshling mother. Vlad smiled wildly as he licked the blood off his mouth and claws. He chuckled to himself as he slinked off into the woods. Back to Coraline's house in the clearing.

Meanwhile, Barbara would have to contact Coraline's parents. Perhaps now, she might know what drove her to run away to Arcadia when she was already set to move here. Why she ran here, of all places. Why she ran away to begin with.

But for now, she planned to head over to the hospital. On the way, she wondered if she should tell Jim about what Coraline had said, but decided not to do so. He was only a child; he shouldn't be having adult worries just yet.

* * *

Jim sat down at one of the chairs in the small dining room, as did Claire and Toby. The room, having previously held a happier, more cheery mood, now only held tension. It seemed impossible to break. No one spoke to each other for the longest time. Looks were passed, and sighs were had, but even then, nobody spoke up. Even when Barbara announced she would be heading to the hospital, no one replied. Each teenager was wondering who would start speaking. Who would sacrifice themselves, and overcome the intoxicating silence in that damn dining room? Who wouldn't be able to handle the dread, and speak, evidently breaking through the thick blanket of nothing.

They sat there, and waited.

Eventually, Claire left. She felt horrible leaving Jim and Toby alone with themselves, but if she didn't come home soon, she would have to explain to her newly arrived parents that there was an incident. And honestly? She didn't have the strength to talk to them at the moment. So Claire left to sleep it off.

Now, there was only Toby and Jim together in the dimly lit dining room. No one said a word. Toby felt the dread down in the pit of stomach, and the silence and seriousness of the situation was going to swallow him up if he didn't speak.

"So...Jim. Um..." God, this was so awkward. He didn't know what to say.

"I have to find out what happened...", Jim muttered, "We have to go tomorrow..."

"We'll do that! We'll do that, but don't you think we should wait until she's recovered some before we interrogate her like some criminal-"

"Toby, if we don't, then more people will get hurt. More people will get hurt, and it'll be my fault because I waited! I can't have-"

Toby went to Jim's side. "No, Jim, listen to reason. She might not even wake up tomorrow! Right now, we have to do what we can on our _own._ Right now, we can go back to looking around in the woods. Any odd noise, we'll investigate."

Jim held his head in his hands before suddenly jerking up, eyes wide with an epiphany. "The house."

Toby's eyebrows raised in confusion. "What?"

"The house! Her house! Agh, shoot, we don't know where it is..." He sulked, until another thought came to mind. "Wait! She was heading that direction right after school. Maybe she has a hideout in the woods. All we have to do is head to that place, and we'll figure out what happe-"

 _"Jim!"_

Jim immediately stopped talking.

"Jim, listen to yourself! You have to calm down, or we'll never find out what's attacking this town. I know you want to help, but running at a million miles per hour will not help. It's dark, and it's late, and frankly, I want to go to sleep. We will visit Coraline in the hospital after we go to Trollmarket, okay?"

They looked at each other for a minute. Jim sighed, "Okay. Alright. I'll calm down. But first, I want to clean up all of..." He points towards the now filthy living room couch. "...that. Can you help me?"

"Of course I can, Jimbo! Anything to help my overly stressed out bestie!"

Jim chuckles. "Alright, alright. Let's get to it then. Toby, start with taking out the covers off of the couch cushions..."

* * *

 **WHOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOO BOY! This took way longer than it should've. I sincerely apologize for this. I might as well upload this right now, and get to work on the cover later. Yeah, that's a good idea.**

 **I really am sorry for taking an insane amount of time to write the first chapter of the new part. I can't believe it's already been a month since chapter eight of the last part...**

 **WELL, I AM HERE NOW! I hope you enjoy this chapter. This honestly took me a while to write, considering that it's over 4000 words, haha. I will try my damndest to write longer chapters. But for now, 4000 words. See you guys!**


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